There’s a compromise solution for suburban sprawl in Johnson County and beyond

Many residents living in suburban Kansas City towns and cities have been heartbroken when green spaces and woodlands familiar to them are suddenly clear-cut and developed into residential or commercial real estate projects. This scenario is becoming ever more common now that financing rates are historically low and COVID-19 has driven telecommuting urbanites to suburban cities in areas such as western Johnson County.

The managers and governing bodies of these cities have been encouraging extensive development within their borders under the canard of growing the tax base so as to lower property taxes. But ultimately as the population explodes and the sprawl intensifies, more police, firefighters, roads and schools are needed. Consequently, there is great pressure to increase taxes.

These municipalities also use a variety of tax increment financing or TIFs, tax exemptions and municipal bond financing techniques to incentivize developers to invest project dollars into their towns to accelerate the pace of development. For example, in the city of Shawnee between 2013 and 2021, the Excise Tax Abatement program alone has been utilized in the development of 49 projects covering 730 acres. It has abated $4,758,630 in taxes, according to the city’s website. However, some experts believe that relatively well-to-do suburban cities could grow “organically” without granting any tax incentives to developers.

Typically, when local residents are affected by a nearby planned development, they try to mount a campaign against it by speaking out at planning commission and city council meetings. But at these meetings, the development companies present highly-detailed plans honed by attorneys, engineers and land planners. If the project adheres to the municipalities’ required codes and ordinances, then there is little that legally can be done to stop the development and the ensuing destruction of open spaces.

However, there is a compromise solution to this ever-worsening trend of suburban sprawl. It is an alternative approach to development known as conservation subdivision. This alternative has been utilized in hundreds of municipalities in more than 21 states. Conservation subdivision is a concept first introduced more than 30 years ago by land planner Randall Arendt. Akin to cluster development, conservation subdivision creates the same number of residences as a traditional development, but it reduces the size of each plat so that each property can back up to green spaces and wooded areas that remain as homeowner association-owned communal areas. Typically, anywhere from 25% to more than 50% of the developable acreage can remain as open space. Moreover, the following tenets are implemented:

▪ An initial municipal inventory is done to determine what open spaces remain within the city borders. Then, contiguous open spaces are designated as best suited to tie into existing open spaces, woodlands, parks and trails to map out interconnected green ways.

▪ A city’s underlying zoning, subdivision ordinances and comprehensive plan are modified to allow buildings to be grouped more closely, while permanently protecting a large percentage of the property from development.

Conservation subdivision is a win/win for land owners, developers and municipalities. These less-large lots sell for as much as or more than standard-sized lots in conventional developments because buyers purchase an individual property plus parks, green ways, habitat, trails and attractive views from their decks.

The increased property values have been borne out in academic studies funded by the National Association of Realtors and the School of Global Environmental Sustainability at Colorado State University.

If you have been intrigued by the concept of conservation subdivision, hear from the founder of the concept, Randall Arendt. You are invited to participate in a live one-hour Zoom call with him on Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. Go to shawneesos.com and click the registration link near the top of the site. Questions? Call 913-717-7894.

James Magaziner is the founder of Shawnee Open Space (SOS), an organization that is encouraging municipalities to save more woodlands, habitat and open spaces. He is an independent financial advisor and lives in Shawnee.